Witch's Lament
by bittasummer
Summary: Halloween special! 3-Parter. The gang visit a haunted house on the night of Halloween and get much more than they bargained for. Primarily Jori with some minor Bat.
1. something wicked this way comes

**A/N: **Hello and Happy Halloween! Part 1 of 3. The gang visit a haunted house on the night of Halloween and get much more than they bargained for. Rated T for profanity and suggestive situations! Primarily Jori, but I found myself writing some Beck/Cat in it as well. Review?!

* * *

**Witch's Lament**

**::**

_i. something wicked this way comes_

**::**

"This is a bad idea," Andre announced as he sat at the driver's seat of his van. Beck was the passenger's seat and the rest of the gang – Tori, Jade, Cat, Trina, Sinjin and Robbie – were all huddled in the back. The van rode through the dark highway, jiggling ever so slightly as it went over speed bumps. "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this," Andre continued, feeling stuffy and clammy, and a little bit sick.

"Oh shut up," Trina rolled her eyes, "This is perfectly safe, okay? Loads of people are going, even some from Hollywood Arts. Ow, Robbie, your headlights are digging into my back!" she wriggled in her space, turning around to shoot a glare at him. Robbie was dressed as the Mystery Inc. Van from the franchise Scooby Doo. His costume was a soft cushy version of the van with space for Robbie's body in the roof and arms through the windows.

Sinjin was smoking what he claimed to be a herbal remedy for his brittle bones, and it definitely reeked of something new agey and healthy. Andre had wound the windows down but the smoke was getting everywhere. Trina had complained about the smell thirty three times since he lit up.

"I'll google map the place," Tori said from her position, checking her phone. This year, Hollywood Art's Halloween Party that year was scheduled to the lamest it had ever been, so when Trina boasted about going to a cool yet currently undisclosed haunted mansion party, everyone wanted to go with her. Unfortunately for Trina, that was the only way her parents would let her go, so everyone costumed up and Andre borrowed his dad's van.

Everyone going to the haunted mansion party would be texted the address earlier that night and it was farther away than Andre would have liked. Andre was dressed as Scooby Doo, in a giant dog costume identical to the cartoon character. Beck was dressed as Fred, also from the Scooby Doo franchise; in a white shirt, red neck tie, blue jeans and blonde hair wig. Cat was dressed as Daphne; in a purple dress, her red hair back combed, with light purple tights, a green scarf and purple go-go boots. Sinjin was dressed like Shaggy and Trina was dressed as a slutty Velma, which wasn't as hard to pull off as everyone thought it was.

Jade was originally supposed to be Velma but at the last minute, she changed her mind and decided to dress as the Evil Queen from Snow White. Her black lacy dress clung to her skin and bared her cleavage. Her eyes were dark and smoky and her lips were as red as blood. She had a black Amy Winehouse style wig on with a lacy funeral-like veil, fake nails, black heels and a train that flowed like a Bridal's Dress should have. She didn't really look anything like the Evil Queen, more like a sexy evil Witch.

Tori decided to go as Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. She had a puffy pink dress that sparkled with the weight of it's diamonds, a pink wig, a Glinda-style tiara, a long silver wand and lots of pink make up. Secretly, Tori thought that Jade had only switched costumes at the last minute to something that was the opposite of hers just to spite her. She was most probably right. Normally, if they hadn't been dressed up, they would have fit in Andre's van no problem, but their costumes were so animated and big that Andre was convinced the van would break down any minute from all their weights combined.

"Where did you find this place again, Trina?" Robbie asked.

"On Craig's List," Trina replied.

"What?" Andre and Beck said at the same time.

"Oh relax boys," Trina rolled her eyes, "It's just a party, will you calm down? Lots of people are going to be there, it's not going to just be us. And I left Mom a note of the address on the fridge before we left, so if something does happen, she'll know where to find us."

"Still not reassured," Tori glared at her sister.

"Stop whining you big babies," Trina snapped, "I didn't even want you to come. You just tagged along."

"After Tori's mom said that you couldn't go without us going," Beck added, glancing in the front view mirror.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Sinjin suddenly added to the conversation, "We've got Jade. What could possibly be scarier?"

Jade smirked.

They murmured in agreement.

**::**

After some initial comprehension, the gang had finally gotten into the spirit of Halloween and were singing Michael Jackson's song Thriller in time to the radio as Andre followed Tori's map phone instructions held in the passenger seat by Beck.

"Turn left," Beck told him, "We should be here."

Andre turned off the interstate and onto a little back road up a windy narrow path that was covered with trees on both sides. The gang's communal singing drifted off slightly as they stared through the wind shield that show cased the dark and creepy windy road ahead them.

"This is creepy," Tori murmured to herself.

"It's Halloween," Trina shrugged. "What can you expect?"

Andre turned left at the end of the road and finally pulled to a stop. They all stared out the window at the sight of the old run down looking mansion before them. The front lawn was littered with Halloween decorations; grave stones, scary pumpkins, plastic ghosts, scarecrows and ghouls. The mansion was more like a 19th century Victorian Manor, with a dark near black exterior and cardboard planks nailed up the windows.

Apart from the lit decorations in the front lawn, it was hard to tell if any lights in the Manor were on. It was eerily silent.

"I don't hear anything," Beck pointed out suddenly, "Do you?"

"Maybe they heard us pulling up and decided to hide to try and scare us," Trina said with sparkly eyes as she leaned forwards and slid open the van door. She hopped out, smoothed down her short burgundy mini skirt, and looked at her skimpy orange shirt that accented her breasts and mid riff. She ran her fingers through her short brown wig and smirked at her own attraction. She completed the look off with school girl like orange socks that stopped under her knees, and black heels.

The rest of the gang clambered out – Glinda, the Evil Queen, the Mystery Inc. Van, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Scooby – and Andre locked the van behind him. They stared up at the haunted Manor and waited.

Trina sighed, "Oh come on guys!" she left them by the van and marched over to the Manor, charging up the pathway and knocking tentatively on the door. She glanced back at the rest of the gang and turned around in time as the door before her creaked opened. She smiled, slipped inside and the door slammed shut behind her.

"Did Trina just get body snatched?" Robbie frowned. "I didn't see anyone at the door."

"Me neither," Andre agreed.

"I don't like this," Cat suddenly shook her head, "I really, really don't want to go in there."

"Oh come on, Daphne," Jade raised an eyebrow, "You guys dressed as a bunch of teenage detectives and not one of you is brave enough to go inside that creepy looking house? You give the franchise a bad name."

"Crap," Tori mumbled under her breath as she tried to walk in her Glenda costume towards the house.

"Tori?" Beck called.

"My sister just walked in there," Tori called back, "And if I return without her, my parents will kill _me_!"

They all reluctantly followed after her towards the Manor. Tori reached out and grimaced as she knocked on the front door. It creaked open of it's own accord, and Tori instinctively took a step backwards and bumped right into Jade. The Goth's hands gripped either side of Tori's waist to steady her.

"Watch it, Vega," Jade snapped, "Or I'll put a spell on you."

Tori squirmed out of Jade's grasp, a little unnerved by how good it felt. Jade reached past Tori and pushed against the door, making it swing open to reveal a decrepit almost burned down interior. It looked like the Manor had just _barely_ survived a mass fire. How the hell was it even still standing? Tori's stomach twisted when she realised that the inside of the Manor was empty, dark, and _not_ full of partying teenagers with a strobe light and a bunch of tables with accommodating food, punch and desserts.

Why hadn't they just gone to Hollywood Art's Party instead?

"Oh no," Sinjin shook his head, backing away, "This is just like the makings of a horror snuff film! No! No! I can't experience that again! Not again!" he turned and ran in the direction of the side of the Manor, away from the gang and Andre's van, to the back of the creepy old house.

"Where are you going, Sinjin?!" Cat cried after him. "We're here!"

"What did he mean by 'not again'?" Andre frowned.

"I'm going back to the van," Robbie was already walking back up the path.

Jade licked her lips, sighing, "As much as I want to, we can't just leave Trina and Sinjin here. We'll be forever known as 'Those people who ditched their friends to get murdered.' Nobody will hire us after that."

"Yes Jade, because that's the _only_ reason to save Sinjin and my _sister_," Tori snapped.

"We'll have to split up," Beck announced, "Robbie, Cat and I will go look for Sinjin. Jade, Tori and Andre, you go look for Trina. Everybody has their cellphones with them, right? The _first_ sign of any psychos or stalkers or murderers, call the police."

Robbie grumbled under his breath but turned and headed back towards Beck. He, Robbie and Cat began to walk round the side of the Manor in search for Sinjin, leaving Andre, Tori and Jade at the front door.

"Who wants to go in first?" Jade said with a growing smirk. "Tori?"

"You're always so gun ho about scissors and blood and evil things," Tori said, "_You_ go first."

"For the love of God," Andre walked in between them and took the first step into the eerie Manor. The floorboards creaked beneath him. Tori glanced at Jade with an unsure look and then followed after Andre, hyper aware that Jade was behind her. They realised that they were in a foyer. In the middle was a winding staircase that led to higher floors. The left of the entrance looked like it lead into another hallway and the right of the entrance looked like it led onto a parlour of sorts. How long had this Manor been abandoned for? How long had it been standing? Who even lived here before them?

"I knew this was a bad idea," Andre mumbled to himself. "No good can come of splitting up."

"Where could Trina have possibly gone?" Tori shook her head, "Those stairs don't even look stable enough to support one person."

"It's the Craig's List guy," Andre nodded, looking around with narrowed eyes, "He's probably snatched her and dragged her down to the basement."

"What a delightful thought," Jade smiled.

"Jade," Tori snapped, "How can you possibly still be your usual self when we're in a situation like this?"

"What can I say?" Jade retorted, "I'm a consistent person."

"I'm cold, I'm terrified, I'm shaking and I'm this close to peeing myself," Tori gritted out hoarsely, "If we don't find Trina within the next ten minutes, I'm calling the police."

"It won't do anything," Jade shook her head, suddenly serious, "Tori, it's Halloween, one of the biggest nights of the year. They'll be flooded with prank calls, candle light mishaps and drunken assaults."

"Well we have to do something," Tori said stressfully, "I know I hate Trina, I know she's talentless and a bitch and annoying and has the moral compass of a North Korean terrorist but she's my sister."

"That's actually really offensive to North Koreans," Andre stopped to tell her. Then he said, "Don't worry Tori, we'll find her. She'll probably be somewhere in this house; hiding, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump out and scare us half to death."

"This doesn't make any sense," Tori whispered to herself, "Trina said the Craig's List ad was a _party_, not some weird old empty house in the middle of nowhere."

"Maybe it was a mistake," Andre shrugged back. "Wrong address, maybe?"

"Then who set up the garden decorations?" Jade replied and that thought made them stop short with fear.

"We'll need to check upstairs," Andre said, "I left my flash light in my van. I'll go get it and—"

"You're leaving?" Tori almost lost her breath.

"We need to go upstairs and I'd rather have my torch with me when I did," Andre said, "Look, I promise I'll—"

"Don't say it," Jade grimaced.

"—be right back."

Tori whined, "Andre! People who say 'I'll be right back' never come back! It's the rule of horror films!"

"Enough." Andre shook his head, "I mean it. You're letting this day and it's personification of evil things affect the rational part of your brain. This is _just_ a creepy house, Tori. No more, no less. And I will be back. Right back. Okay?" he headed towards the front door, stepped out and made sure it was lying open behind him as he disappeared down the pathway.

The moonlight from outside trickled inside the foyer and Tori suddenly felt colder for some reason. She glanced meekly over to Jade, who was staring with fascination into a nearby glass cabinet that was covered in filthy old dust. Nothing in this house looked like it had been touched for fifty years.

"I'd really be up for hearing a sarcastic comment right about now," Tori said as she scuffled over to Jade in her puffy pink dress.

"Tori, look at this," Jade opened the glass cabinet doors, the cobwebs and dust flying everywhere as she did so.

"What?" Tori bit her lip.

Jade reached in and picked up a framed photograph covered in dust. Her fingers brushed the dust away as she peered at the black and white polaroid in the frame. Tori craned her head in over Jade's shoulder to get a closer look as well. What she saw almost made her stop breathing.

There were people inside the picture and they bore a scary if not uncanny resemblance... to them. The people in the photograph were standing in the foyer; the shiny brand new foyer that looked nothing like it did now. The four women in the shot looked exactly like Jade, Tori, Trina and Cat, but dressed in 1920's flapper outfits holding wine glasses. The men accompanying them in the picture looked exactly like Beck, Andre, Robbie and Sinjin, but dressed in black and white tuxes with their hair combed back.

"That's us," Tori whispered into Jade's neck without realising it.

Jade flinched as she felt a shiver go down her spine. She couldn't deny it; there was no point.

"Jade, that's us," Tori whispered again, stronger this time, "Jade. We should never have come here."

"No, it appears we shouldn't have," Jade agreed.

"We need to leave. Where's Andre?" Tori headed for the front door, staring out down the pathway. Andre's van was still at the bottom of the front lawn but Andre was nowhere to be found. "Jade, Andre's gone."

Jade took a step towards the front door with Tori but at that precise moment, a gust of wind knocked them backwards onto the creaky floorboards and the door slammed shut, plunging them into total darkness.

Tori screamed, her whole body shaking with a kind of fear that could have caused a heart attack. A cold hand clamped around her mouth and her eyes widened as she tried to fight her unseen attacker.

"Tori, it's me," Jade whispered into her ear. Tori immediately stilled, aware of Jade's hands around her waist, clutching her with an insane death grip. She frowned. Something else was happening other than fear and adrenaline. Tori was... liking Jade's touch? Something was definitely going on. Something weird, and something wrong and something evil.

"Jade," Tori gasped lowly, "I'm so scared right now."

"I know," Jade whispered back. "I'm going to bring you up now, okay? Just very slowly, I'm just going to..." she slowly brought Tori up from the ground, rising herself at the same time. Her hands never moved from Tori's waist and Tori found that she didn't want them to.

Creaking stair steps and a demonic like cackle from the first floor jolted them on the spot. Tori's heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst from her chest.

"This is ridiculous," Jade suddenly dropped all pretence of being scared and said aloud, "Tori, we're being pranked."

"What?" Tori frowned.

"Trina, Sinjin, the whole group," Jade said, "They're pranking us! The Craig's List ad, the creepy house, the photo shopped picture of us like 1920's flapper girls. They set this up to prank us."

"Thank god," Tori heaved a sigh of relief. Then she gaped angrily, "I'm going to kill them!"

"We could just get them back," Jade said after a pause, "Do our own pranking."

"How?" Tori whispered, "I can't see anything, we're in the dark."

"Take my hand," Jade said, a little annoyed but Tori didn't hesitate to reach for the Goth's hands and intertwine their fingers like it was a normal thing for them to do. With Jade's free hand, she took out her iPhone and said, "Take out your phone and flash it on the stairs, we're going up."

"Two moments," Tori said, "Just wanna update my status."

Jade scratched her head impatiently.

**::**

**TORI VEGA:**

_Velma is missing, and it seems the rest of the Scooby gang have disappeared too. Can two Witches figure it out? Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West are on the case!_

_P.S – Jade's hand is warm._

Mood: Terrified & Revengy

**::**

"Tori," Jade looked down at her phone, "I'm the Evil Queen. The _Evil Queen_! Not the Wicked Witch of the West! And my hand is not warm."

"Your hand _is_ warm," Tori countered, "We're almost at the first floor, stop checking The Slap and use your phone for light."

"Says you," Jade murmured. "Stop grasping my hand so tight."

"I'm scared," Tori muttered, "Despite knowing that is all a set up, it's still creepy in here."

"This is the last time I ever listen to Trina again," Jade said angrily.

Tori grappled with the bottom of her puffy pink dress as she maneuvered up another step. "I don't understand why Witches walk," she said suddenly, "If I had magic powers, I'd just fly everywhere."

Jade was already smirking as she said, "If I had magic powers—"

"I don't even wanna know," Tori cut her off.


	2. that old black magic

**A/N: **Hello! Thanks for reviewing! Review, review, review?!

* * *

**Witch's Lament**

**::**

_ii. that old black magic_

**::**

Robbie, Cat and Beck continued to walk through the back garden of the creepy manor. The house spanned for what seemed like miles; just when they'd thought they'd reached the back wall of the house, there was another corner, another room, another edge to conquer. The wet muddy grass squished beneath them and the cold air nipped at their open cheeks.

The moonlight from the dark sky shone down directly at them and when Cat pointed this out, Robbie shook his head and Beck swallowed drily. Cat walked into the back of Robbie's Mystery Inc. Van costume again and Beck reached out to steady her before she landed face down in the mud.

"I wonder if the others found Trina yet," Cat wondered aloud.

"I wonder where the hell Sinjin is," Robbie muttered, "I feel like we've been looking for hours."

"We've been gone eighteen minutes, Robbie," Beck checked his phone. He breathed out slowly, "Looks like the others are still alive," he said sarcastically, "Tori just updated her status. Apparently Jade is no longer the Evil Queen, she's the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Call Sinjin again," Robbie said impatiently.

"I just did," Beck snapped lightly, "His phone is still off and so is Trina's."

All of a sudden, Cat burst into tears, sobbing hysterically. "I wanna go home!" she cried, "I don't like—like this anymore. I'm an _actress_. I don't wanna die on the set of a real life horror film!"

"Cat," Beck placed his arms around her, "It's gonna be okay, okay? I'm here and Robbie's here and Tori, Jade and Andre are still just in the house, right next to us. And Trina and Sinjin are just messing with us. I sure they'll jump out any second now and reveal how they planned this whole thing."

"It does seem too elaborate to be real, doesn't it?" Robbie agreed suddenly. He took a deep breath, "Why don't we just go back to Andre's van and call a taxi. This is not cool. Friends shouldn't frighten their friends half to death."

Cat nodded in agreement.

"Friends also don't ditch friends either," Beck said, looking at them.

"It's a difficult moral dilemma," Robbie nodded, "But I'm sure time will heal the guilt. Come on Cat, let's go."

"Robbie," Beck pulled a face, "Come on. Sinjin _has_ to be around here somewhere. There's nothing but mud and grass and woods."

Robbie suddenly stilled, glancing to the right and straining to hear. He swore he could hear... Was that...

_No_. It couldn't be.

"_And then I said to him, Robbie, you need to drown yourself in a bath full of cool people, it's the only way the popular kids will ever look at your pasty white corpse—"_

"Do you hear that?" Robbie gasped breathlessly.

Beck and Cat shared a confused look. Beck asked, "Hear what, Robbie?"

"_That_," Robbie replied, "Rex."

"I thought you left Rex at home," Cat frowned her signature doe-like expression.

"I did," Robbie couldn't help but take a step forwards toward the faint sound of Rex's voice, "I did and—and I can hear him. I can him mocking me!"

"Robbie," Beck walked over and grabbed Robbie's arm, "Robbie, Rex is you. You may treat him like a person but Rex is a puppet, he's you, he gets his voice from yours. There's no way you can hear him. There's nothing over there."

"Robbie, I can't hear anything either," Cat said meekly.

Robbie shook his head, feeling cold and sick. Rex's voice from the far end of the woods continued to plague him.

"—_Robbie is so uncool, the first time I met him, he was ten years old. Seven years later, he still only has his hand for a friend!"  
_

"No!" Robbie pulled away from Beck and began to ran towards the sound of Rex's voice.

"Robbie!" Cat called after him. She and Beck began to run after their apparently deluded friend until Robbie abruptly stopped at the edge of the woods and stared down at the ground like he was burning a hole in it.

Beck and Cat eventually reached him, out of breath and panting. And then the sight of Sinjin; lying face down in a pile of wet mud at the edge of woods stilled them.

A pool of blood starting at Sinjin's head made Cat's eyes widen with horror and fear as she spun around and retched vomit out of her stomach. Beck stared down, horrified at Sinjin's corpse, stumbling backwards from disbelief.

"It was Rex," Robbie mumbled, numb and fighting back an array of emotions that dared to claim his sanity. "Rex did this."

"Rex isn't here!" Beck suddenly snapped, screaming. He gasped again, his whole body shaking as he tried to think rationally. "Police," he said suddenly, "Police." He pulled his phone out with trembling fingers and began to dial 911.

Cat continued to vomit as Robbie stood there, motionless.

"No signal," Beck cried angrily. "Dammit! Robbie, give me your phone."

Robbie made no movements.

"My signal is down too," Cat checked her phone as she wiped vomit from her mouth with a shaky hand, "M—must be where we are. We should go back to the others and g—get signal there, oh—o—kay?"

Beck nodded slowly. "Robbie come on."

"You guys go," Robbie murmured, "I'll stay here."

"No," Cat shook her head, "No!" she grabbed Robbie's arm and began to drag him away from Sinjin as Beck helped.

**::**

Tori and Jade walked along the hallway of the first floor, still holding hands, their phones the only pathway of light for them. As Jade was about to make a sarcastic comment about writing a play similar to this, the sound of old classical violin music began to resonate from the room at the bottom of the hallway. It was slow, but not sad, and filled with suspense and hair raising notes. Tori could tell immediately it was from a CD player, rather than a live player.

"That room," Jade gestured towards the door with the music coming from it, "I think we're meant to go in there," she and Tori began walking further down the hallway together, their dresses making a swishy noise as they moved against each other. Tori was still clamping Jade's hand. They reached the room and Jade pushed against the door. It swung open to reveal a candle lit room with a freshly made bed and a little dining table in the middle, perfect for two people having a romantic meal.

"Are we supposed to sit down?" Tori asked, frowning. The table was small with two chairs opposite each other. Two covered silver platters were at each side of the table with a large eight stick candle holder in the middle. There were other lit candles in the room but the one on the table was the biggest.

"That's what they want," Jade replied quietly, "We must be getting closer to Trina now." She surveyed the room, noticing that red rose petals were spread over the freshly pressed bed covers. She couldn't find a CD player or any audio machine that connected to an electricity plug but there had to be one somewhere, otherwise, where was the creepy spine chilling music coming from?

They stepped further inside the room until Tori was close enough to reach for the lit candles in the candle stick holder. She looked around the room and started to notice mushed roses littering the floor. "This makes no sense," Tori murmured, "I mean, I get it, it's scary, but where's Trina and the others? Where's the jumping out of wardrobes and screaming 'Boo'... Where is everyone?"

"I don't know," Jade admitted and that made her feel weak. She hated feeling weak. Blood, guts and horror films didn't scare her, because she knew they weren't real. She knew they were just actors, with cameramen all around them and fake bloody props. It was just a job. Jade didn't fear what could be understood. But this... None of this was making any sense right now. Tori was right. _Where_ was everyone? Where was the gloating and the mocking and the laughing?

Tori glanced around the walls, suddenly interested in the art. There were a couple paintings that looked familiar and then there was just one that nearly made her crumple to the floor. She nudged Jade, who soon followed her gaze. Jade's eyebrow went up as Tori's creased together. They were staring at a painting of... _themselves_, _kissing_. They were dressed in 1920's period clothing but it was definitely them and they were definitely kissing.

Tori said shakily, "That's..."

"Us," Jade swallowed thickly.

A weird feeling overtook Tori's body. The more she looked at the painting, the less likely she found herself wanting to look away. It was kind of memorizing. Jade was strong and independent as ever but she looked lovingly at the painted version of Tori, with a smirk that was uncanny to the real thing. Tori smiled slightly at how she fit together with Jade in the portrait, their hands clasping each others.

Jade titled her head, frowning. How had she never realised that Tori really did have amazing cheekbones? She wanted to take a cold shower and she didn't even know why. An emotion overcame Jade, and it sort of screamed at her. Jade was the kind of broken human being that loved to hate things, and Tori was one of them. She realised now, that Tori was more of an obsession than an annoyance.

The bigger question at that moment was, who the hell put that there?

"We should leave," Jade finally announced, "Find the others."

Tori nodded meekly. Jade picked up a nearby candle stick before she and Tori turned around and exited the room. Once they shut the door behind them, the violin music stopped.

**::**

Cat, Beck and Robbie came running from the side of the haunted house to the front, heading straight for Andre's van. Cat was screaming, Beck was trying to hold back vomit and Robbie was trying desperately to keep up. Cat reached the van first, screaming again when she saw Andre, lying on the ground beside his van, seemingly unconscious.

"Not another one!" Robbie cried.

Beck bent down beside Andre and gently shook him, "Andre? Andre?" he began to check his body for obvious signs of assault or blood, but found nothing. "Andre?" he reached back and slapped his friend across his ice cold cheek. Andre suddenly jolted awake, frowning at he peered up.

"What happened?" Andre gasped.

"We don't know, we just found you like this," Beck replied, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I came out here to get a flash light from my van," Andre frowned, "But I never got inside. I don't remember what happened. Did somebody hit me from behind? My head is pounding."

"Be careful," Beck said as he and Robbie helped Andre to his feet. "Andre, there's something we have to tell you. You might wanna sit down for this."

Andre leant against his van and pressed a hand to his forehead. "What is it? Did you find Sinjin?"

"Kind of," Cat grimaced, holding her stomach, "Someone murdered him."

Andre burst out laughing.

"Andre, it's true," Robbie said, "I found him. The back of his head had been bludgeoned in. There was blood everywhere."

Andre's face fell, "Wait, are you for real?"

Cat nodded grimly.

"We need to phone the police but none of us can get signal," Beck added, "Where's your phone?"

Andre patted his pockets, his eyes wide, "My phone! Somebody stole my phone!" he glanced towards the creepy haunted house and said, "Where's the others? Tori, Jade and Trina?"

"Tori updated her status half an hour ago," Robbie said, "But we haven't personally heard from them, and since they're not out with you... They must still be in there."

Andre felt a shiver of ill ease go up his spine at the sight of that house. "I can't go back in there," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but my head is killing me and I think I might vomit—"

"It's okay," Beck cut him off, "We'll go, won't we Robbie?"

Robbie hesitated.

"I'll come with you," Cat took a step towards him.

"Thanks, Cat," Beck shot a look at Robbie and added, "Take care of him. Don't wander off."

"Wait," Andre opened the driver seat of the van and pulled out a giant flash light, "Here," he handed it to Beck and said, "Be careful."

"You too," Beck nodded back. "Wait inside the van and lock the doors. If we're not back in twenty minutes, call the police. Robbie still has his phone," he took Cat's hand, who was still looking a green colour of nausea.

Robbie leaned against the van beside Andre as they watched Beck and Cat walk back towards the house.

"So Sinjin's really dead?" Andre asked quietly.

Robbie nodded. Then he said, "I think Rex killed him."

Andre shrugged, "I always knew there was something evil about that little guy."

**::**

"Tori, I need my hand back," Jade announced.

"Why?" Tori hadn't meant to sound so defensive, but it useless.

"It's sweaty and clammy," Jade said and Tori reluctantly let go of the other girl's hand. The touch of each other's warmth was severed and another cold air swept all around them. Tori looked down uneasily and Jade frowned. They were standing the middle of hallway, trying to decide whether to go up another floor or go back down to the foyer.

Jade bit her lip at the sight of Tori looking so defenseless so she swapped the candle stick she was holding over and held out her other hand. Tori looked down at it with uncertainty.

"I don't bite, Tori," Jade smirked and it came out more flirty than she meant.

Tori accepted Jade's other hand and tried to keep the smile from her face. Usually being alone with Jade in a creepy haunted house was something Tori would kill to avoid doing, but Jade had turned out to be the only source of safety and sanity and she was clinging to the Goth girl with everything she had.

"Let's just go downstairs and wait by Andre's van," Tori suggested, "We can call for help. Our phones still have battery left."

"Tori, this is all man made," Jade replied, "That photograph, the gust of wind, the candle lit room, the painting of us, it's all here because someone put it here. And it's Trina. I say we do anything that annoys her. Showing her that she hasn't scared us will wipe the smirk right off her face."

"She totally has scared us though," Tori grumbled.

"What's better? Admitting defeat or lying?" Jade countered.

"Lying, I guess," Tori muttered back. "Still, I keep wondering what Trina's agenda is. What good is a painted portrait of us kissing going to do? I mean... What do you think?"

"I think Trina's the biggest idiot I've ever met," Jade replied, "She probably meant to get a picture of her making out with herself."

Tori couldn't help but smirk at that. Then she said, "Yeah but... it's crazy, though, right? I mean, us? That's just... wow, weird. And crazy... Right?"

Just then, a noise from the foyer startled them.

"That sounds like the front door," Jade whispered, "I bet that's Sinjin or the others."

"What do we do?" Tori gasped.

"Run!" Jade pulled Tori towards the second flight of stairs that led up to the second floor. It was even creepier than the first, or the foyer. "We should hide up here until they come looking and then jump out and scare them."

"Where do you propose we hide?" Tori shook her head in disbelief.

Jade spotted a nearby giant wooden oak wardrobe. She walked over to it and opened the doors. "Look, it'll fit both our dresses. Hop in."

"Jade," Tori grimaced, shaking her head so hard that her pink wig fell off.

"Trust me," Jade said stressfully. Tori sighed, handed Jade her eight piece candle holder, climbed inside the giant wardrobe and sat down. Jade blew out the eight candles, set them on the floor, grabbed Tori's wig to leave no evidence and kept her single candle alight as she climbed in beside Tori and reached out from the inside to close the doors over.

Tori was glad that Jade had kept at least one candle alight as they huddled together.

"This is the worst Halloween ever," Tori mumbled. "We should have just gone to the Hollywood Art's Party."

Jade couldn't argue with that. She'd spent better Halloweens in her room, with a bowl full of popcorn watching The Scissoring. But, an almost real haunted house had been on Jade's bucket list for years, so at least she could cross that off her list when they found the others.

All of a sudden, Jade started to laugh. Tori frowned at her. "What's so funny?" she shook her head, "Jade. Jade, this isn't funny."

"Yes it is," Jade nodded back, still laughing, "Tori, we're inside a haunted mansion, looking for the missing Scooby gang. Who else can say that?"

Tori slowly smiled and broke into a laugh. "Yes," she mused, "I guess we're really the only ones that can say that," there was a slight pause and she added, "Why do you hate me?"

Jade sobered up immediately.


	3. i put a spell on you

**Witch's Lament**

**::**

_iii. i put a spell on you_

**::**

Cat and Beck edged their way up the creaking stairs one step at a time. Cat was clinging to Beck's arm and Beck was shining the giant flash light in every which corner, trying to convince himself – and Cat – that there was nothing to be scared of, but deep down, he knew that wasn't true. Someone had murdered Sinjin and he had no idea where Trina, Tori or Jade was.

Maybe they were dead too. Maybe he'd just left Andre and Robbie out there, alone and defenceless, or maybe, he and Cat had just walked themselves into a big giant trap. The paranoia was festering from the walls of the house, spilling into their veins and coursing through each beat of their heart. There was something evil and cursed about this place and they had just walked right inside, like a lamb to a slaughter.

The only thing that was keeping Beck together was the notion that the murderer had to have killed Sinjin outside, rather than in. If he and Cat were in the house, and Andre and Robbie were in the van, then by default, did that mean that the murderer escaped through the woods? Was the murderer the same person who knocked out Andre? Did that mean he had hung around? If it was the murderer then why didn't he take Andre's van and flee? Nothing was making any sense!

"Beck," Cat whined, "I want this to be over."

"We just have to find Tori, Trina and Jade," Beck reassured her, "Once we find them, we can leave and go get help."

"I'm scared," tears began to pour down her cheeks, "Why aren't you scared?"

Beck glanced down at the trembling red head and felt his stomach knot with the kind of protectiveness he'd usually reserve for defenseless animals. "Cat," he grabbed her shoulders once they reached the first floor. "Cat, I swear on my life we'll get out of this, okay? I promise you."

"Really?" Cat's doe eyes widened. "What do you promise?"

Beck nodded back, "I promise that we'll both survive this and when we do, I'll take you on a date. A real date. And you can order as many red velvet cupcakes as you want."

Cat frowned, licking her lips, "A date? Beck, a date? What about Jade? I know it's been a while since you both broke up but you know how crazy she gets. She would cut up my lettuce dolls and fry them in her own spit."

"Jade doesn't care who I date," Beck reached out to cup Cat's cheek.

She allowed it for a moment but then pulled back, shaking her head, "No, sir! You're my friend!"

"Friends can date friends," Beck shrugged.

"Jade would hate me," Cat shook her head again, "I'll be breaking the friend's code list or something. She'll send me to the fiery depths of—"

Beck leaned in and captured Cat's lips with his own. He cupped her cheek again and pulled her closer, slipping his tongue inside. Cat felt her own knees weaken slightly at the feel of Beck above her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt the swoop in her stomach as his soft lips continued to caress hers. It amazed her that everything horrid could be forgotten with a simple kiss.

When they pulled back, their lips were swollen and her purple lipstick was smudged across her mouth – and his.

"Tell me you didn't feel something," Beck whispered against her lips.

Cat swallowed thickly. "We—we—we should not tell Jade, for a while."

"Agreed," Beck brushed his thumb across her lips in attempt to fix her smudge. She replicated the action with him, smiling sweetly for the first time in hours. Beck felt himself suddenly lost in her innocence, and the charm of her smile. There was so much more to discover with Cat, and he honestly couldn't wait to.

**::**

"Well," Tori repeated, "Why do you hate me, Jade?"

"Oh, lots of reasons really," Jade checked her nails boredly, "Too many to list. Use your imagination."

"Jade," Tori snapped, "Stop being sarcastic—"

"I'm not," Jade interrupted her, "I think the word 'hate' is a little strong but you're definitely on my list."

"Well you're on mine," Tori said, folding her arms.

"Good," Jade narrowed her eyes, "Maybe I want to be on your list."

"Well fine," Tori glared at her, "That's fine. Maybe I want to be on yours."

"Good."

"Good!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Jade suddenly dropped the candle between them and the flame went out. Both Tori and Jade reached down for it and their fingers caught each other. For some reason, neither moved, just staying still in the darkness of the wooden oak wardrobe and the warmth of each other's fingers. The second Jade pulled her hand away, Tori felt the atmosphere around them heat up with thick tension.

And then Tori took a risk she never thought she'd take. She said, "I don't think you hate me at all. I think you like me. That's why you act like you can't stand me. You like me."

A sound of whipped hair turning told Tori that she had caught Jade's attention – and not in a good way. "What?" Jade said lowly.

"The mocking, the teasing, the threatening, the flirting," Tori listed off, "Admit it, Jade. You actually don't know how to express any feeling but loathing or sarcasm. It's your default setting."

"It's not my default setting," Jade snapped, "I don't like you because you swooped in, kissed my boyfriend when he was my boyfriend, stole all the parts in the plays I would have gotten and you're just—you're just so—"

"What?" Tori shook her head, "What am I?"

"Perfect!" Jade screamed, "And I hate that. I hate that you're just so tiny and petite and that your hair always looks perfect, and that people flock around you and that you don't even really notice it. I hate how you make me feel inferior!"

"Bullshit," Tori didn't know where she was getting the courage for this but it was there and it was rearing it's ugly head. Jade wanted to talk truth, then Tori was going to lay down some facts.

Jade narrowed her eyes, "What did you just say?"

"I said that's bullshit," Tori repeated, "You blame everyone for everything and you push them away, but they're not the problem Jade, you are. You've built this wall around you and it's been there for so long, that even you don't know how to take it down when you want to. You like me, I know you do, and you just can't express it any other way because that's how twisted you are inside."

"Why do you even care, Vega?" Jade snapped, "Why do you even care if I like you or not?"

"Because," Tori felt tears of revelation swarm into her eyes. "Because I like you."

And then it was out there. A home truth that maybe not either girl had realised until they were forced to examine their entire dynamic with each other. She could practically hear Jade plotting away in her head, wondering how to use this new information against the half Latina.

"I'm leaving," Tori reached upwards but Jade caught her hand before she could push against the doors. Jade pulled Tori towards her and when Tori looked into the other girl's eyes, she saw something dark and intense brewing there... almost threatening? The air pulsed around them with the sound of their own heart beats.

Something thick lodged itself in Jade's throat and she swallowed, catching the attention of Tori, who watched a bead of sweat roll down the base of her neck. Turns out, Jade could sweat when the situation called for it. Tori's eyes glazed over slightly as the air came thinner around them and the atmosphere became thicker. It was almost like a sauna in there suddenly.

Jade looked angry for a moment and just when Tori was regretting saying anything, Jade yanked Tori towards her and covered the half Latina's mouth with hers. Tori responded immediately, shocking both herself and Jade, as she allowed herself to be seduced by the alluring scent of Jade's rosemary and thyme perfume. It wasn't slow or loving, it was hard and passionate and lips moving against lips, groans being swallowed and tongues being thrust inside.

An ache nestled at the pit of Jade's stomach, threatening to consume Tori whole. The warmth of their bodies clutched at each other, desperate to be closer. And then suddenly Jade slowed the kissed down and Tori happily followed. It was like a serenade. One of those corny loving ones, that caressed each other's mouths and went on and on. Jade slipped her hands over Tori's neck, feeling her racing pulse and smiling into their kiss.

When they pulled back for air, Jade rested her forehead against Tori's. She felt terrified for the first time that night but Tori couldn't see it. All she saw were Jade's emerald eyes.

Then Jade's face hardened and she said, "We tell no one."

Tori nodded back. She would have kissed the Goth girl again had approaching footsteps not interrupted them. They exchanged a look of horror before the doors were retched open. Beck and Cat, and Tori and Jade both screamed at the sight of each other.

"What the hell are you doing?" Beck gaped.

"We were hiding from you guys," Jade stood up and clambered out of the wardrobe. Tori followed.

"Why?" Cat frowned childishly.

"The jig's up," Tori folded her arms, "We know you did this. Set this whole thing up to scare us."

Beck and Cat exchanged a look with each other. Beck told them, "We didn't do anything. We went to find Sinjin and we did, dead. The back of his head had been smashed in. When we came to find you guys, Andre had also been attacked but he was just unconscious and not bleeding. They wouldn't come in here after you, so Cat and I did. Where's Trina?"

"What?" Tori almost stumbled, "Sinjin's _dead_? For real? This isn't a joke?"

Cat and Beck nodded grimly.

"There's a dead body out there?" Jade looked at the window.

"Jade!" the three others cried at the same time.

"Oh my god, Trina," Tori realised, horrified, "We thought this was all a big joke—the picture, the wind, the cackle, the _room_. Jade, the _room_! The room, the _portrait_, the painting, the candles, Jade—"

"I know," Jade said breathlessly, her mind racing just like Tori's was.

"I don't understand," Beck frowned, "What happened in here?"

"Oh my god, I can't go home without my sister," Tori started to cry and was surprised when she felt Jade reach out and intertwine their fingers together. It was all she was going to get from Jade at that very moment and it was all she needed.

A creaky floorboard from the other side of the hall made them practically jump out of their skin. They high tailed it down the flight of stairs to the first floor. Tori was tempted to check that _room_ again, but Jade was already pulling her down the second flight of stairs to the foyer.

Beck flung the front door open and raced out with Cat as Tori and Jade followed. Andre and Robbie were still leaning against his van, and they looked up, expecting to see an evil monster chasing them. The front door slammed shut behind them. They bent over, panting.

"Are you okay?" Robbie asked, "Hey, where's Trina?"

Tori clutched her side as she pulled out her phone and dialled her sister's number. It rang twice and then—

"_Hello," _Trina answered. The sound of a roaring party could be heard in the background. Tori could make out lively music and chattering people, _"Hello?"_

"Trina!" Tori gasped, "Trina, it's Tori. Where are you? Are you still inside the house?"

"_Yeah, this party is off the hook, right?"_ Trina had to shout the last part because of the noise, _"Is it time to go already? Hang on, I'll be right out!"_ She hung up.

"What is going on?" Tori practically shouted, "My sister sounds like she's at a party!"

The sound of the front door opening made them turn around and when they looked, they nearly fell over with shock. The decrepit abandoned Manor that looked ready to crumble had suddenly transformed. It now looked modern, and rebuilt from scratch, with bright colours and shiny materials.

The windows weren't boarded up anymore. Everything was new. Light was flowing from the Manor and the dancing bodies of costumed up teenagers could be seen from the windows. The house was packed with people.

"What the hell?" Beck gasped.

"No," Tori shook her head, "No. This can't be happening."

Trina stepped out of the house, pulling a drunk looking Sinjin with her. She stumbled over to them, "Hey guys! Did you enjoy yourselves? Thanks for not bothering me at all, I had the best time!"

"_Sinjin_?" Andre cried.

"Hey guys!" Sinjin giggled, which set Trina off. "I'm a little drunk," he whispered.

"You were a little dead earlier," Cat said.

"What?" Sinjin laughed, "You can't kill the Sin-jin!"

Robbie shook his head, "I feel like I'm going to faint."

"Trina, we saw you walk into the old run down house," Tori folded her arms and looked at her sister, "You saw the outside of it as well. You saw that it was run down! Now look at it, it's like brand new! Within the blink of an eye."

Trina frowned, "Tori, I have no idea what you're talking about. I thought you guys were just being over dramatic when you said it was run down. I mean I know it's no Buckingham Palace, but it's a pretty sweet place."

"But Sinjin—" Beck shook his head, "You saw it too. You saw us open the door and look inside at the dark empty foyer. You were screaming about being in a snuff film, or something."

Sinjin suddenly burped and then frowned, "Beck, I was kidd—ding. I have social anxiety. When I saw the amount of people inside, I freaked and ran away, but the conservatory was open right round the back of the house and this guy gave me a beer and soon, I was on top of the world."

"On top of the table more like!" Trina screamed, grinning. Sinjin reached out and drunkenly high fived her.

"No!" Cat suddenly cried, stomping her foot, "No, no, no, no, no, no! This is not happening! I saw your body Sinjin. I saw that house. I must be losing my—"

"Okay," Sinjin suddenly sighed, "I have something to confess."

Tori and the others folded their arms and waited for it.

"I wasn't smoking an herbal remedy earlier," Sinjin confessed, "It was peyote. It must have been a bad batch. I took it to help me loosen up, but it must have effected all of you and given you shared hallucinations."

"What?" Andre cried, "You were smoking _drugs_ in my van?"

"I'm sorry!" Sinjin cried, "I thought it would be fine!"

"Shared hallucinations?" Tori said sceptically, glancing at Jade. "Are you really telling me that we've been in that party that whole time having a hallucination that we were in a creepy empty haunted house? Because it felt pretty real to me."

"What else can explain it?" Trina snapped suddenly, "I would take the peyote thing and run with it, guys, because you're all crazy if you don't. The evidence is against you, that house is not creepy or haunted, and Sinjin is not dead."

"I guess," Cat nodded slowly, "I guess it explains everything."

"Then how did I get knocked out from behind?" Andre widened his eyes.

"Andre, you probably passed out as you were walking and just assumed someone had knocked you out from behind," Sinjin replied, "Drugged people aren't careful people."

"I guess," Andre frowned, feeling the back of his head.

"Let's get out of here," Tori mumbled.

As they headed towards Andre's van, Trina held Sinjin back by his arm and waited until there was a bit of distance before she whispered, "Sinjin, I know your mother makes you submit to random drug testing. Did you really smoke peyote earlier?"

Sinjin stared down at her, "Of course not! I'm a Van Cleef, we natural people! I had to tell them _something_, they were losing it."

Trina swallowed suddenly and turned back to the normal modern house with the partying people inside. "What really happened here tonight?" she murmured.

"I don't know," Sinjin shrugged, "All I know is, I think I lost my virginity! Go Halloween!" he raced towards Andre's van. Trina followed after him and clambered inside.

There was an eerie silence in the van as they rode back towards their normal lives. Half way home, Robbie took out his phone and said, "Hey, I got history on that Manor. Apparently it was a speak easy, run by a group of friends who liked to party and pursue artistic achievements, but one night, there was a mysterious fire and the entire house burned down. All of the guests, including the friends that ran it, died in that house. Years later it was remodelled and sold onto a contractor. We must have read that somewhere before, and it fuelled what our drugged minds wanted to see."

Trina and Sinjin exchanged a worried glance across the van.

Jade frowned, suddenly feeling something cold pressed against her chest. She stuck her fingers inside the corset part of her lacy dress and pulled out the exact same photograph that she and Tori had found earlier that night in the picture frame. The photograph of everyone dressed in 1920's clothing.

The picture they'd both thought was a fake. She gasped, staring at everyone's likeness and wondering how the hell it had ended up in her dress. She'd left the picture – and it's frame – behind, and now here it was, in between her fingers. Jade quickly slipped the photograph back inside her dress and glanced over to find Tori staring at her with unreadable dark eyes. Had she seen the photograph?

Jade began to ponder the meaning of everything. If Robbie said that the speak easy was run by a group of artistic friends and the photograph wasn't a fake, did that mean it was them... in another life? A past life? Had they really just visited the site that they had all inhabited in their past lives? Was that even possible? The rest of the drive home was eerily silent.

**::**

Trina strutted through her front door, finding that her parents had already gone to bed. It was just a little over midnight. She grabbed a bunch of candy and stormed upstairs, claiming that the bathroom was hers for the next hour.

Tori and Jade lingered awkwardly in the open doorway. Andre was waiting for Jade in Tori's driveway, still to drop off Beck, Cat, Robbie and Sinjin. Tori could tell that Andre was tired, confused and wondering why Jade had offered to walk Tori to her door.

"Tonight was weird," Tori said quietly.

Jade nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you're telling me."

"I'm confused," Tori blurted out, "Over what was real... And what wasn't."

"It was all real," Jade said in a shocking moment of honesty. "All of it. Everything we experienced. There's no rational explanation for it. It wasn't because of Halloween, or Peyote, or drugs... It was something horrific, and magical."

Tori looked at Jade hopefully. Maybe the older Goth wouldn't push her away now.

Andre suddenly beeped his horn, "Come on, Jade!"

"I should go," Jade sighed, disappointed.

"Or you could not," Tori said suddenly.

"What?" Jade frowned.

"Stay," Tori swallowed the lump in her throat, "We can take off these ridiculous costumes—"

"I'm liking this already," Jade smirked.

"—and change into pyjamas and eat junk food and watch whatever movie you want," Tori finished, "It can even be The Scissoring," she grimaced.

"I'd love to," Jade said sincerely. She turned to Andre and said, "I'm good here! You guys get home safe!" she stepped inside and Tori closed the door behind her.

"There was something I forgot to tell you," Jade said as she wrapped her arms around Tori's neck and pulled her in.

"Oh yeah?" Tori titled her head slightly. "What's that?"

"I'm a Witch," Jade said, smirking, "I've put a spell on you. And now you're mine."

Tori laughed, pressing her warm lips against Jade's. "Happy Halloween."


End file.
